Donna828 is Overbooked - Already! Chapter One.

Reading all the good books is like a conversation with the finest people of past centuries. ~Rene Descartes

I'm looking forward to some fine conversations with my visitors in 2011.







Books Read in January

1. The Defector - Daniel Silva. 3.5 stars. (audiobook)
2. Freedom - Jonathan Franzen. 3.3 stars.

Whee! Donna's back! Life's good.

Thank you for that big welcome, Richard. I'm honored to have you here as my first visitor. ;-)

Hi Donna. Just wandering through and leaving big yellow stars all over the place. :)

Yay, Donna's here.

Welcome back!!

Donna- You know know I plan on following you around forever! Unless we have a big fight or something....nah, that'll never happen! Overbooked! Amen, sister!

Caty, Linda, and Mark. Isn't this fun greeting all our old friends and looking forward to making new friends this year. Yes, I'm an old (very old) Girl Scout at heart!

I'm sticking to my policy of visiting people's threads after they leave messages on mine. I had good manners drummed into my little head as a young un and a few of them stuck!

Hey Donna - I totally understand being overbooked. Just means I have lots of options, right?

Absolutely, Laura. I hope to take part in lots of readathons this year to help with my little problem of having way too many books I want to read.

Hi Donna! Good luck for 2011 - roll on Jan 1!

Hey there, Ellie. I look forward to reading more about your adventures in bookselling in 2011. Thanks for stopping by.

Welcome back!

Thanks, Jim, and thanks also for all the work you do for this group. We appreciate you.

Hi Donna! Always reading your thread, even if I don't always post so much...

Can one ever really be overbooked?

Hooray for Girl Scouts :)

Now I have the song "Make New Friends" running through my head, though.

Hi Stephen, and I always try to keep up with your thread...zombies and all the crazy stuff that goes on there.

Kath, I consider the state of being overbooked one in which there are more books that I want to read than time to read them. Hmmmm....that would probably mean that 90% of us here are overbooked.

Zoe, me too. It's almost as bad as having "It's A Small World" stuck in my head after we visited Disney World last spring.

By that definition.. I too am overbooked. As in WAY overbooked. uh oh

AAARRRGGGHHH It's a small world after all
it's a small world after all
it's a small world after *gun to temple*

Must think of another song to replace those ones....

Gotcha! How about substituting "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"? I recently learned that this was a popular Civil War carol based on a Longfellow poem. ...'Peace on earth; good will to men.'

Oh, I love Christmas carols. Good idea!

Overbooked huh? Is there anyone here who isn't?

Overbooked does sum things up quite tidily. Hope the end of 2010 is filled with fun, family, and lots of reading for you, young lady! I look forward to your reading adventures in 2011!

Hi Donna! We sang "I Heard the Bells" this year. There are some very dark, poignant, even anguished verses of that carol -- Longfellow wrote it after hearing that his son had been gravely wounded in the war, and very soon after the death of his wife.

Checking in, Donna! Do not want to lose you already :)

>17 Donna828: - Oh no! Now I've got 'It's A Small World' stuck in my head! *reaches for large bottle of alcohol in despair*

>23 brenzi:: Bonnie, I think we're all in the same predicament of "too many books, too little time." I'm glad to be in such good company.

>24 LauraBrook:: Thanks, Laura, I need to get busy on the reading. Fun and family are crowding out my reading life these days.

>25 AMQS:: Anne, I'm going to check out those lyrics. I've always liked that carol but knew nothing about the history of it.

>26 alcottacre:: Don't worry, Stasia, you won't lose me. I'm a pretty tenacious friend.

>27 elliepotten:: Quick, Ellie, sing "Jingle Bells" instead! Or substitute another song of your choice. J.B. could become grating after a few too many "Heys!"

I'm not sure I'm up to all these jokes and merriment. Laughing makes my tummy hurt.

Hi Cheli, we'll try to keep the frivolity under control for your sake. I'm glad to see you "out and about." Take care now.

"keep the frivolity under control" Around here? Are you serious? Good luck with that one!

Hi Donna, I'm glad to know there are still people out there who know from good manners. Helps keep the rest of us in check. ;-)

Just until Cheli's stitches start to heal, Mark.

Hi Smiler, or rather, Ilana. I try my best, though sometimes I get busy and don't respond as I'd like to. I'm heading over to your new thread right now.

I am glad I only know Jingle Bells, and it did not stuck ;-)

LOL, Anita. You are one of the lucky ones! Fa la la la la...

I'll be following you like a bad rumour.....

;-}

I just knew something was not right! I had not starred ya yet.
Looking forward to all your reads, cause I know if you like them, I'll like them.

>36 jdthloue:: That's fine with me, Jude; now I'll know who to blame.

>37 Carmenere:: All is right in my world now, Lynda. You are here and you brought a dazzling star along to grace my thread.

'overbooked' - yes, I can relate to that! But it feels good. :-)
I wish you many great reads for 2011!

Thank you, Nathalie. I am grateful to have a bounty of books to read. It does indeed feel good! Happy Reading to you as well.

Morning Donna- Just stopping by to say hello! Reading anything good? Have a good weekend, my friend!

Uh, does Middlemarch sound familiar? I am nearing the finish line after this very slow marathon read. No pictures in this one! The writing is so good that I refuse to rush it, but I believe it is taking me longer than War and Peace did. You have a great week end, too, Mark.

waves duster... runs off to dust something else.. ( probably books)

Donna, you're farther along in Middlemarch than I am so don't feel bad. (I'm about halfway through Book VI.) I sometimes curse them for starting the chapters on the same page the previous one ends. There is no filler in this book and it's long but I am savoring it.

Well I finished a long time ago but I feel like I savored it too because I gave up trying to read another book at the same time. It's worth savoring that's for sure. Sooooo good.

>43 mckait:: Where's Kath with that duster? You missed a few spots here. I decided to read and ignore the dust - but I did do laundry, vacuum, and rake the leaves that had blown in front of the garage!

>44 phebj: and 45: Pat and Bonnie, I finished Middlemarch after seven weeks of savoring! I'll post a few comments on my 2010 thread. Of course, I loved it!

Yoohoooo Donna ... I'm glad I caught up with you before the new year started ...because once the year starts, this group is going to explode again. So I've starred you so I don't lose you in the melee.

Hi Donna, just a quick visit to drop a star on you, I can see that the new Wiki is going to be very helpful in locating people!

Welcome, Caroline and Judy. I think you're both right...this group is in a pre-explosive state and it will be tough to keep track of everyone. Cheers for the wiki!

Hi, Donna! I can't keep up with all the threads on all my challenges for 2 years right now . . . but I do have you starred here, at least!

Hi Donna - love the new title, and looking forward to a whole new year of reading!

Hi Terri and Sandy. Thanks for coming by. Return visits will be appreciated! A new year of reading...now that sounds lovely. Such possibilities. I'm going to have to start thinking about some general reading goals.

I failed miserably in my wish to read more Faulkner in 2010. Well, I did read and love Light in August, and I am slowly making my way through The Portable Faulkner. Maybe I'll just stick with reading one of his major books a year and keep plugging along with the short stories and novellas as I have time. That sounds doable.

#52: I just read Faulkner's Sanctuary a couple of weeks back, Donna. Skip it. There, I kept you from reading one :)

Donna--I agree with Stasia--skip Sanctuary.

>53 alcottacre: , 54: Thanks, Stasia and Deborah, for the advice. I was thinking about Absalom, Absalom for my next attempt. Yes? No? Anybody?

I have a copy in German if you want it...

I remember that story, Terri. LOL. I have a sweet little Modern Library edition from the 1960's that I'll be reading. I'll pass my copy on to you if you really want to read it. Or, you could brush up on your Deutsch (sp?) in your spare time!

I like Absalom, Absalom, Donna. Be prepared to take your time with it though.

Hi Donna, I haven't read any Faulkner yet but have Absalom, Absalom on my tbr for 2011 as well. Can't say why (I haven't read a single sentence yet) but I expect it to be "difficult". But maybe it's just the Nobel prize that intimidates me.

>58 alcottacre:: No worries about taking my time, Stasia. I learned my lesson with The Sound and the Fury. That was the first Faulkner I attempted. I read it in my usual breezy manner, then realized I didn't have a clue! So I backtracked and read the more accessible As I Lay Dyingand Light in August. LIA will make my Top Ten this year. After reading it, I decided to take Faulkner in slow, steady doses. He is an author worth exploring in depth.

>59 Deern:: Hi Nathalie, I'll be interested in following your progress as you attempt Faulkner. He can be intimidating. I love the progression in The Portable Faulkner. It's a collection of many of his shorter works in chronological order that gives a sense of place for Yoknapatawpha County, MS and its inhabitants. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), my bookmark is still in the first quarter of the book.

Happy St. Stephen's Day! Or Boxing Day! Whichever you prefer, Donna, may it be a happy, happy occasion!

>60 Donna828: I have a couple of Faulkner books; The Sound and the Fury and Light in August. I've had both for maybe a couple of years already and also slightly intimidated as haven't read him before and many nobel laureates do prove difficult to read. I wouldn't mind reading one of those as part of a group read, might make it less scary to approach.

Am re-reading one of my favourite books by another nobel laureate right now, The Grapes of Wrath and have to say that Steinbeck has long been one of my favourite authors as he always surprises me with how simple his writing is on the surface and yet how deeply and thoroughly he expresses things so that you feel like you're experiencing them yourself firsthand as the reader. Just wonderful.

Donna, you have now moved into the #1 spot of members who share my books! I will try to follow your very popular threads in 2011!

Geez....see what happens when I stand on my box and refuse to do 2011 until 2011....even 5 days early, I'm already playing catch up. Glad you're here...looking forward to wonderful book discussions in the coming year.

Hello, I'm back from a whirlwind Christmas trip to deliver even more gifts to three kids with too much stuff! I made sure that books were added to the mix of high-tech toys! I hope everyone in LT Land got something good to read as well.

>61 richardderus:: Thanks for keeping my thread alive while I was gone, Richard. I hope you aren't too "boxed in" from yesterday's blizzard. Stay warm and read a good book!

>62 Smiler69:: Ilana, I absolutely adore The Grapes of Wrath. I reread it in March and gave it 5 stars AGAIN! This book holds up well. I'm going to try and read some other books by Steinbeck in 2011 that have been overlooked by me. I "discovered" The Moon Is Down by him a few months ago. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. It's very short and quite different from his other works.

>63 teelgee:: Terri, that is excellent news. I'll try to keep my standards high! I have noticed that we have similar tastes in lots of books so I try to follow your reading as well.

>64 tututhefirst:: Yeah, Tina, it's a little nuts around here with so many people having two threads. I admire you for your restraint. I'm reading my last book of the year now and will post it on my 2010 thread in a couple of days, then be here permanently. Thanks for visiting.

Edited to coax Touchstones to work.

Donna, I hope the kids you delivered books to as part of their gift mix like to read. I like giving books to kids for presents too, but alas, I just found out this year that 2 of them don't like reading. They find it boring and prefer toys or high tech gadgets. *sigh* They find it amusing and also rather bizarre that as an adult with disposable income that I would choose to buy books rather than another iPad or digital camera/video recorder etc.

having said that, one of them thoughtfully gave me a bookmark for Christmas. I love thoughtful gifts like this ... and of course gift cards from Barnes & Nobel or Borders. ;-)

LOL, Caroline. Yes, my 3 techies-in-training (aka known as my 3 oldest grandchildren) do enjoy books very much. I gave Sadie (8) James and the Giant Peach, and two Ramona books by Beverly Cleary; Audrey (6) got an Amelia Bedelia collection, and Griffin (3) got pop up books about dinosaurs and trucks, two of his favorite things. I think they were well pleased. I find it sad that some kids don't like to read. That is not an option for my grandchildren. ;-)

One of my favorite gifts was a bookmark included with $100 worth of Borders gift cards. That should hold me for awhile especially considering that I have money left on a B & N card from my birthday!

Donna- Welcome home from the whirlwind! It sounds like you had a nice Christmas weekend. Hope things start slowing down for you!
Thanks for the reminder: More Steinbeck next year!

Hi Mark, enjoy your day off with Bree before you head back to work and she heads back to Oregon. Things will slow down for me until our next whirlwind trip on Friday, this time to Texas for New Year's weekend. I'm with you on the Steinbeck. Also on Cloud Atlas.

For those on the TIOLI Challenge, Cloud Atlas is currently rated at 4.2. Hurry up and put it on the wiki before it goes above that magic number!

drive-by hug

>65 Donna828: I'd love to feature more Steinbeck novels and short stories in my 2011 reading list. I've had The Red Pony among my things for years and years, don't know why haven't read it yet, so strong chance I'll get to it sooner than later, would love to read East of Eden again and thanks to you, now adding The Moon is Down to my wishlist!

Questions, what do you mean about that comment about Cloud Atlas and the 4.2 rating? Just curious.

Ilana- I'm not as familiar with the TIOLI Challenge but we are having a Group Read of Cloud Atlas starting Jan15th. Interested?

>70 richardderus:: *Warm hug* right back atcha; hope it melts some of your snow!

>71 Smiler69:: Hi Ilana, the 4.2 rating refers to Madeline's first challenge in January's 2011 TIOLI - Take It Or Leave It - wherein the books read for this part of the challenge have to fit between the LT ratings of 3.8 and 4.2.

>72 msf59:. I threw in a plug for the group read over on the new TIOLI thread, Mark. I'm looking forward to it.

Hi Donna, I've got The Grapes of Wrath teed up for 2011 after last having read it in college. I'm looking forward to it.

Just a drive-by wave and hug, Donna :)

A sleepy wave, now back to bed.

Hi Donna,

I probably need to break down and move into 2011 - I'm having a hard time finding people! Glad to hear your holidays are going well. They're supposed to be exhausting!! I'll be looking forward to going back to work next week (well, almost...). :)

I second your rec of The Moon is Down!

Hi Donna!! Yours is the 1st 2011 thread I've visited. Trying to stay caught up with everyone is crazy!!!
It was nice getting to know you and I'm glad I can count you as one of my friends. Sending you Best Wishes for the New Year!!

LT is my comfort place... This morning's bad news: Doorbell rings, UPS truck in driveway, rush to door anticipating Amazon order...box of Omaha Steaks on front porch. Bummer. Well, the steaks are appreciated, but I want my one and only* Christmas book!

*Well, I did get a "joke" book in my stocking that was pretty cool. I'd asked for a beautiful copy of Shakespeare's sonnets. Hubby no could find so he substituted the "No Fear" version with sonnets on one side and "real English" on the facing page. As I said, 'pretty cool,' although I still want a gift book copy to put out with my short stack of pretty little books.

>74 brenzi:: Glad to hear that, Bonnie. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the Steinbeck reread. It held up well for me.

>75 alcottacre:: Thanks for dropping in, Stasia.

>76 Carmenere:: I know why Stasia is posting in the wee hours, but why are you up, Lynda. Unputdownable book?

>77 Copperskye:: Joanne, I wish I had a job to go back to. Afraid it's just housework in store for me. We've been taking Lucky with us on our last few jaunts out of town which means less dog hair around here to contend with. Any hints out there for shedding dogs?

There was a great hint on Richard's thread today about giving your stressed dog melatonin. Lucky is going to get a daily dose for awhile to see if that helps with his hypertension. He's always had "issues" and barks at everything that moves outside. I don't want to suppress the watchdog in him, but it's difficult living with a nervous Nellie!

>78 tjblue:: Oh, hi there, Tammy. I was too quick with the Submit button. It is crazy around here with two years going on at the same time. I'm glad I can count on you to keep me centered. Happy New Year to you as well. I'm off to go look for your new thread.

It's crazy trying to follow you around! I was going to wait till Jan 1 to comment on some of the busier threads, but too bad. I love what you gave your grandkids for their Christmas presents - am going to try Ramona out on my daughter soon...

And YUM to the steaks! I'm in the land of Very Expensive Meat, so that sounds almost as good as an Amazon delivery.

Hi, Donna. Glad you had a safe trip here and back home again for Christmas. I love it that you give the kids books for Christmas. We gave books to our neices. The 5-year old got Miss Nelson is Missing, and insisted on climbing onto her Dad's lap (my baby brother) and having him read it to her right in the middle of all the presents and commotion. The 6-1/2 year old is more mature and was able to content herself with thumbing through the pages until she got home and could read in peace. I don't remember what we got her exactly - something about a Treehouse. As soon as my SIL saw it she exclaimed that she was so glad because she (SIL) really doesn't like the Junie B Jones books. Well. My mom and my daughter and I all wanted to get her a Junie B Jones book, because they are the most fun, but didn't only because we couldn't find any good ones at Borders. So we got one off the "list". Evidently the list is still at least edited by Bethany's mother, because my mom says that Bethany reads Junie B Jones books at HER house and loves them.

Hi Sandy, I'm taking a guess here that the treehouse book you got was in The Magic Treehouse series...very popular with both Sadie and Audrey. Junie B. is a riot but maybe not the best role model for kids. Oh, what the heck, they are fun! My problem with the books in series is that I'm not sure which ones they have already so I tend to stick with stand-alones that I'm familiar with. It helped that the Ramona movie came out recently.

Until I'm told to "knock it off," I'll continue to buy books for Christmas, birthdays, and even Valentine's Day, Easter, and Halloween! All my grandkids (except Haley) have nice little libraries in their bedrooms. I'm certain that Haley will have one, too, when she gets a little older.

knock it off??? who would say that???
books are the best gift :)

You and I (and most everyone here on LT) agree on that, Kath, but there are some unfortunate kids who rate books only slightly above a pair of socks as a gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have officially reviewed my last book for 2010 so I've signed off of my other thread and will make this one my permanent temporary home. I'll crowd a new ticker or two and a book worthy quote into my first message in the next day or so to cozy things up a bit.

I'm sure I'll start a new book, but it's a chunkster so there is no way I'll be posting a book read here until 2011.

#83 Magic Treehouse - that's it! I don't think I've ever read them, but my daughter remembers that they were pretty good. You're right, Junie B isn't a good role model. But my mom, and me as a result, are of the opinion that reading should be fun first and instructive second. And since her mother won't give her the fun books, it falls to her grandmother and me to make sure she has some. Mom gets them at the library when Bethany visits at her house. (So far, she hasn't been permitted to visit my house alone - I wonder why?!)

I find it hard to imagine that any child of yours would ever tell you to "knock it off" when it comes to giving books as gifts. You've raised them better than that.

Looking forward to seeing what good new books you'll be reading in 2011. Will you be posting a recap over on the 2010 thread?

Sandy...you got it right when you said...

I find it hard to imagine that any child of yours would ever tell you to "knock it off" when it comes to giving books as gifts. You've raised them better than that.

It's easy to joke about things that won't happen. ;-)

I'm not planning a recap on the old thread, but I'll repost my favorite books for the year right here! From "The Favorite Books of the Year" forum:

Memorable Reads for 2010

Fiction: (new-to-me books in chronological order)

Let the Great World Spin - Clum McCann
The Moonflower Vine - Jetta Carleton
Light in August - Wm. Faulkner
The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver
Blindnesss - Jose Saramago
Fingersmith -Sarah Waters
The House of the Spirits - Isabel Allende
Every Man Dies Alone - Hans Fallada
Room - Emma Donoghue
Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Nonfiction:
Mountains Beyond Mountains - Tracy Kidder
Paula - Isabel Allende
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks -Rebecca Skloot
My Reading Life - Pat Conroy*
Packing for Mars - Mary Roach

*My "Book of the Year"

ETA: Tired touchstones!

>72 msf59: I really appreciate the invite Mark, but I'll be joining the Jane Austen reading group on that date with a reading of Sense and Sensibility. Believe it or not, I've never read Austen before and am a bit apprehensive about reading an author who is so widely adored. I mean, what if I can't stand her and I've bought all those other books of hers only to end up not wanting to read them? I'd feel like such a pariah! And then if I DO end up loving her books, I'll feel like... I'm just another ordinary kind of person. Not sure which is worse! lol

>73 Donna828: Thanks so much for clarifying that Donna. I guess I didn't have my eye on the ball for a while because I didn't see that TIOLI thread come up, so I'll definitely look out for it now!

>74 brenzi: Bonnie, as much as I enjoyed it when I read The Grapes of Wrath more than 20 years ago, this time it absolutely blew me away. Just have a few pages to go, but I'm already looking forward to reading it again in a few years!

#87: Great list of books there, Donna! Thanks for sharing them.

That's a great list of book highlights for the year, Donna.

Hope your one and only Christmas book arrives soon.

(I rather appreciate socks for Christmas, provided they are not hideous: I never remember to buy myself new ones!)

We have a socks tradition here.. have for years..
the kids get socks and then say Socks! and toss them over their shoulder..
( ala Christmas Story, I think? ) They have been doing it forever, it seems.. lol

What a gift giving loser I must be .. lol
books and socks :)

>88 Smiler69:: Hi Ilana, I hope you enjoy your maiden voyage to Austenland. It has been quite awhile since I read S & S. I might have to try and squeeze that one in. Boy, am I 'overbooked'!

>89 alcottacre:: You're welcome, Stasia. There were difficult decisions made to come up with that list!

>90 Eat_Read_Knit:: Hi Caty. Don't feel too sorry for me and my 'one and only Christmas book.' I just succumbed to the after-Christmas B&N sale online so I'll have a few more books to look forward to receiving.

>91 mckait:: LOL, Kath. Actually, I'm with you and Caty regarding socks. I think they make perfectly wonderful gifts. In fact, I treated myself to an assortment of Gold Toe socks while I was Christmas shopping. Love your sock tradition!

Just catching up Donna :)

Glad you had a wonderful holiday and hope you have a happy New Year

safe travels to Texas :)

Overbooked? You should see the list I just posted for those books I want to read in January alone... Of course it's nothing for the likes of Stasia and other speed readers, but if I manage to read at that rate, I'll probably have to sacrifice everything else, like eating, sleeping, and walking the dog!

The S & S group read starts on Jan. 15th, as you may or may not already know (have you seen the thread started by Stasia?) be nice to have you along!

#92 Ooh, which books did you buy in the sale?

>94 Smiler69:: I saw your ambitious list, Ilana. I get nervous if I commit to too many books and it ceases to be fun. I have six TIOLI books on my January stack which is about right for me.

>95 Eat_Read_Knit:: Caty, I was wondering who was going to ask me that question! Let's see, I ordered My Life in France for $2.99 and Reading Like A Writer and Reading the OED, both for $3.99. Also got a calendar for my husband and a board book for Baby Haley. I spent way too long checking out the books.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

YeeHaw, my second favorite mailman (next to Mark, of course) just brought me my new book from Amazon. It's called From Battlefields Rising; How the Civil War Transformed American Literature. It's written by a Drury University English professor, the one who leads my reading group at the library. He is such a knowledgeable and personable man,and I wanted to help his sales along. Plus, the book is something I'm very interested in. Don't worry, you'll be hearing more about it when I get a chance to read it.

#96 That one sounds good, Donna. I'll be eager to hear about it. In 2011 (and possibly 2012), one reading focus for me is Lincoln and the Civil War.

Great top 10 list, Donna. I have Henrietta Lacks and Packing for Mars on my "must read" list for 2011.

Donna- Thanks for the nod! I might have got upset! I loved your "Memorable Reads" list. Wow, we shared some terrific books, although a couple of them I read at the end of last year. I don't know if you noticed but I did receive My Reading Life in my Book Swap. Yah! Hope to squeeze it in sometime next month.

Sounds like you got some fantastic reads! Hope you enjoy them all. Ambitious is the right word. I'm even thinking of adding more to that list. I don't expect to read them all, but I like having the suggestions in place so I can then ignore them completely and read whatever else strikes my fancy! Joking aside, most of these books carry some sort of obligation so I really do need to read them as a priority; some will probably spill over to February—or to next year for all I know!—but I'm completely ok with that.

Donna, I've got a ouple of your memorable reads in my TBR pile. Yay! Happy almost New Year!

>97 lindapanzo:: I sure hope I get to my newest book in 2011, Linda. I'd like to read it in January, but as you know, I am "overbooked!"

>98 msf59:: I did notice your new acquisition, Mark. I hope you enjoy My Reading Life as much as I did. It helps if you're a Pat Conroy fan, although I think any book lover would appreciate his passion for books. I think some of my memorable reads can be directly attributed to your recommendations.

>99 Smiler69:: I'll be following your progress, Ilana. It's funny how our reading goals follow our personalities. I don't know you very well, but you seem to be an outgoing and (I'll use the same word) ambitiious person. On the other hand, I tend to be more cautious in my life so I don't want to overcommit myself. So much for analysis...just enjoy the books that you get to, okay?

>100 bonniebooks:: Hi Bonnie, glad to see you here. Let me know when you get to those books, whichever ones they are. I had so many "almost" books that I could probably come up with a different list tomorrow! Not a bad problem.

Ooops, forgot to wish you a Happy New Year, Bonnie.

And, I somehow overlooked your message upthread, Kara. Happy New Year to you as well. I hope you get some warmer weather soon. We'll probably be heading to Florida to visit our friends in Clearwater Beach sometime in late January or February.

I like your year end list, Donna. There are a couple there I need to check out!

>100 bonniebooks: Bonnie!!!! You're here! I mean here in 2011. Yay! (waves)

>101 Donna828: It's funny how our reading goals follow our personalities... >So much for analysis

Lol. Ambitious might be a word used to describe me, yes. Even now, in my new life as a slacker, I tend to be ambitious about not achieving ANY goals. That's a kind of ambition too you know. I tend to never do anything halfway. So it's either briliiant success for me or crash/burn/miserable failure. Mercurial minds: gotta love 'em... or hate 'em. Nothing in between. Lol.

My kids all (boys and girls) loved the Ramona books. I can't imagine a kid not liking them.

Boden got mostly books for Christmas. We're not trying to influence him or anything. One long wall of my family room is bookshelves, and he was fascinated staring at the books--he was almost as interested in the books as he was in the Christmas lights.

#105: Boden got mostly books for Christmas. We're not trying to influence him or anything.

Uh huh. Yep, I believe that one.

Wonderful top 10 list, Donna! I really need to find that Pat Conroy book, it's gotten so many good comments on LT. Wishing you many more great reads in 2011. Happy New Yearish!

I am in no way a list maker... that includes books I plan to read. I know the book I want to start 2011 with,(World Voyagers :The True Story of a Veterinarian a Renaissance Man and Stewart the Cat) because it was given to me be a great friend, and it looks so yummy. I wanted it to have a special place in the year, and so I am waiting . Also, I wanted to be able to sit down and enjoy it and not pop into and out of it during the holidays.

Since I am a mood reader, a list would be fatal for me and send me into the throes of a funk, I am sure. I know I want to read Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms,and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories soon after book #1, because it was book one until I received Voyagers :)

That is the most planning I have done for 2011.

oh yea.. socks.. I bought myself some too :)

Greetings, Joanne, Ilana, Deborah, Stasia, Lynda, and Kath. Today will be a busy day for me because we'll be on the road to Texas first thing tomorrow morning. I'm taking my laptop with me this trip. That 'cold turkey' (without LT) business last week-end was tough!

>105 arubabookwoman:: Deborah, I'm glad Boden got lots of books. I can't get too excited about board books but I managed to buy a few for Haley. I think my daughter saved the ones from her kids that weren't too well-loved to add to Haley's growing collection.

>107 Carmenere:: Lynda, the Conroy book is a wonderful treat for a book lover. Mine is out on loan again. I'm thinking of buying a second copy just so I can look at it and be happy!

>108 mckait:: I don't plan too far ahead in my reading, Kath. And I always leave room for those serendipitous books that pop up. The TIOLI Challenge is for one month only so I figure that doesn't box me in too much.

Hooray for new socks!

Great list of top books Donna - Every Man Dies Alone was on mine, and I liked Mountains beyond Mountains too. Even better, I own 3 of your other ones and hope to get to them soon - The Lacuna, Let the Great world Spin, and Fingersmith. And Henrietta Lacks is on her way from Book Depository, hopefully in time for a book club meeting later in January! Am looking forward to seeing your 2011 books.

Hah! Caught up now. I have the Conroy book out from the library, guess I'd better bump it up in priority since you gave it your best of 2010 nod!

With the exception of Blindness, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Mountains Beyond Mountains I haven't read any of the other books on your list but I do own them or already have them on my WL. And I ordered Conroy's My Reading Life last night and should have it Monday. Looking forward to reading that one since you and so many others have loved it.

Florida in Jan and Feb, should be nice.... maybe a little chilly and I hope not as cold as it has been this past week 19 and 20 in the morning brrrr

enjoy your trip :)

Have a great trip!

She's back...........

>110 cushlareads:: Cushla, I always thought you had good taste in books...except for those politicon yawners. Now you know I'm just kidding you, right? I'm glad someone wants to read about politics and economics and share with the rest of us not smart enough to figure those things out. ;-)

>111 teelgee:: Be careful with that Conroy book, Terri. I wanted to read most of those titles he talked about -- even the ones that I didn't care for all that much!

>112 phebj:: Pat, you are another one with good taste in books!

>113 curlysue:: Kara, I just hope it's warmer in Florida than it is in Missouri when we finally get around to making our travel plans.

>114 Smiler69:: Thanks, Ilana. I'm assuming you mean tomorrow's trip to Texas. I checked out the audio of The Defector by Daniel Silva. My husband's current favorite author. I liked last January's A Death in Vienna by Silva when we moved our son and DIL from Colorado to Texas. And now they are three. What an eventful year!

>115 rainpebble:: There is a lot of rain hitting the threads tonight. Glad to see you here, Belva. You've been missed.

Hi Donna, You sure do travel a lot! Have fun and be safe in your travels. I hope the weather is good for you. Enjoy all your kids, both big and little and have a happy New Year! Joanne

I forgot why I looked at my thread in the first place. When I got home late this afternoon, there was another surprise in my mailbox. This time it was a gift-wrapped package that my friend visiting from Hong Kong dropped by. I'm sorry I missed her, but she left me a cool memoir about growing up in Hong Kong in the 1950's. I can sort of relate to that because I spent those same years out of the states in Germany at around the same age as the author. Of course, the settings are quite different. Oh yeah, the book's title is Gweilo. I don't have a clue what that means, but I'll find out and let you know. It will be going to Texas with me tomorrow. My Christmas books are piling up!

Happily waves back at Ilana (why have I been calling you Charlotte?) and shouts with amazement: It's Belva! I haven't seen you on the threads for months and months! Are you hosting a reunion here, Donna? ;-)

I can't get too excited about board books Not to toot my own horn, Donna, but you should have seen the board book I got Boden. It was sooo cute, I had a really hard time giving it up! And that's the truth!

>117 Copperskye:: Looks like we cross-posted, Joanne. I travel WAY too much for a homebody. If I didn't have these children and grandchildren all over the country (at least it seems that way to me), I'd be quite happy staying at home reading books in my 'snuggery.' Happy New Year to you!

This is getting silly with all the cross-posting, but it's kind of cool chatting live here on LT. I love the reunion!

Okay, Bonnie, you have to tell me the name of the book. That's just mean teasing me like that. You know I could still easily make it to either Borders or B&N tonight. I'll be standing by.....

Donna- Have a safe trip and a great weekend! Happy New Year!

Catching up Donna; your top 10 looks like it could be my top 10. And I agree you do travel a lot. That doesn't sound so bad to me. Happy New Year, wherever you are.

Safe travels, Donna! Wave at me as you pass through Sherman :)

On the road again -
Just can't wait to get on off the road again.
The life I love is making music being with my family and my friends
And I can't wait to get on off the road again.

Hope you'll come visit me when you get back home. Here's the LINK to my 2011 thread in Club Read if you want to keep chatting.

Happy New Year to All! May you each start the new year with someone you love and a good book!

Thanks, Mark, for the travel wishes. We're having a thunderstorm right now. It felt like spring when we walked Lucky early this morning.

Bonnie, we do read a lot of the same books for sure. Great minds and all that... ;-)

You can be sure I'll do that, Stasia. Maybe next time I can stop for a chat...and return your books! They're near the top of the January pile.

Bonnie, unfortunately to be with family I have to be on the road again. Quick! Start the book on CD to get that tune out of my head...although I do like that song. You can bet I'll be over on Club Read chatting away with you in 2011. And I'm still waiting for the name of that board book....

Happy New Year, Donna! Wishing you all the best in 2011!
--BJ

Happy new year to you too, Donna. Safe travels! Looking forward to more conversation with you in '11.

May you each start the new year with someone you love and a good book!

Love that sentiment, Donna, and that's exactly what I'll be doing. Have a great visit with your family and Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Donna!!! :)

Happy New Year, Donna!!

>127 billiejean:: It's called The Robot Book. The author is Heather Brown. Here it is:

And Boden (and Mom and Grandma) loved the book. Thanks Bonnie.

He also got a very cute Sandra Boynton dinosaur book from his Auntie Mia, and several classics from various uncles. From me he got the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.

Greetings and Happy New Year, BJ, Lynda, Pat, Kara, Linda, Bonnie, and Deborah.

We made it here safely only to find Haley (and her parents) all sniffly with colds. Haley went to the doctor today because of a possible ear infection. Her ears are fine; da node id the problem! She was happy to see her grandparents and will show us her new Christmas presents (including books) tomorrow. We've been busy eating and playing cards. Not sure I'm going to make it to midnight.

I hope everyone is having a Happy and safe New Year's Eve. I'm looking forward to a new year of reading and talking about books.

Happy New Year, Donna!

I am glad you arrived safely. I am also thankful for the opportunity to meet you in 2010.

Happy New Year Donna! And I will spare you any politico books for a few weeks. 3 in a row was enough, so now I'm reading Case Histories (oops wrong thread!)

Cool that you got given Gweilo - I remember quite a few good reviews on here. It means White Man (and Gwei paw, spelled wrong, is white woman). Both are apparently slightly derogatory. (This is from my half-asleep husband whose parents are originally from HK).

Glad you got there safely and hope Haley's node id bedder soon.

Starred! Happy New Year :)

Wow I've found some people that have read The Moon is Down! It was my first Steinbeck and I loved it, then discovered it was one of his 'lesser' works and no one I knew had heard of it. My copy also had an introduction which explained why Steinbeck wrote it, how he researched for the novella and the novella's reception in the US and Europe in wartime; reading all of that was almost as good as the book itself. Then for Christmas/New Year break 2009 I read The Grapes of Wrath the perfect choice for holiday reading; long and a page turner. Again after reading it I read the introduction and again the background story to the book made me like it even more. This year I hope to read at least one more by Steinbeck, Cannery Row probably.

So many posts.. so little time.. but a whole new year to catch up!

Hi Donna. Found you and starred you. Here's hoping for a great year in 2011. Safe travels, back and forth.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

>135 alcottacre:: Stasia, I consider my LT meet-ups as highlights of last year. I met with Joanne, Anne, and Jenn in CO in August, you in Sherman for a quick visit in September, and then the Joplin meet-up in November capped it off. I was happy to meet you (twice now!), Caty, Terri, and BJ. I look forward to more face-to-face meetings in 2011.

>136 cushlareads:: Hi Cushla, Happy New Year to you. Loved Case Histories...anything about book is acceptable chat on my thread. ;-)

Thanks for letting me know what Gweilo means. I read a few pages before everyone else woke up here and know I'm going to love the book.

I think Haley is feeling better this morning (she slept TEN hours!) but her parents are still coughing and sneezing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I see my other visitors here and will reply soon. My granddaughter needs me right now!

>137 kiwiflowa:: Lisa, I'm always happy to find another Steinbeck fan. I remember being so surprised by The Moon Is Down. It just seemed so un-Steinbecklike! I'm going to read more by him this year, too. Have you read Travels With Charlie?

>138 mckait:: Kath, it might take me all year to catch up with the explosion of threads here.

>139 labwriter:: Hi Becky, I look forward to following your most interesting thread this year once again.

>140 sibylline:: Glad to see you here, Lucy. I hope you started out the new year with something good to read.

>142 London_StJ:: I give up, Luxx. I'm guessing this is part of a green-eyed purple-furred monster? Btw, how are the boys? I hate to call my cyber-grands 'monsters,' although I know you do that in a most loving way. Happy New Year to you and your family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll be looking for the new threads of everyone that posts here. I'm looking forward to keeping up with as many people as I can for as long as I can. I just hope that leaves me time for reading...

Hi, Donna! Happy New Year! Glad to hear that little Haley is feeling better.

My new 75 Books Challenge thread for 2011 is here,

http://www.librarything.com/topic/106099

Hope you visit me!

Hi Donna- I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family! Yes, try to get some reading in!

Happy New Year, Donna. Enjoy the weekend .... I've resigned myself into accepting the fact that I'm never going to be able to keep up with the threads of everyone I want to keep up with, so I'm not going to beat myself up when I miss a few every once in a while.

I'm guessing this is part of a green-eyed purple-furred monster? Btw, how are the boys? The logical leap of course.

They're fabulously wonderful. Max started walking last night. Well, kind of. He took his first step, and today while I was sleeping in he apparently took five steps in a row (grumble punk baby walking when I'm not around grumble).

Phew - I have just caught up on all the posts on this thread. 147 and it's only January 1st! Happy New Year Donna!

Happy New Year Donna to you and your loved ones. A brand new year to read a whole bunch of books, how exciting!

Hi Donna!
I was pretty much ignoring all 2011 threads til today. Just could not keep up. Problem is... I missed a lot here! You've been busy!!!

btw - I'm always looking for a way to cut down on dog fur all over the house. The best tip I have read so far is: to avoid dog fur on furniture - brush the dog! Well I do - and I have to admit, the more I brush him, the less fur I find in unwanted places.

Happy New Year - having lots of fun with family!

I heard the best years of your life are HS, college, first years of marriage, young family... don't believe anyone has ever mentioned being the parent of teens! LOL
But IMO the very best years are being a gramma! :)

I'm in Claudia's shoes exactly. There's no way that I'm going to catch up with 150 posts already, but HAPPY NEW YEAR, Donna! I hope that it's a wonderful one for you and your family!

#147: Go, Max!

Claudia, I loved and agree with your comment about the 'gramma years.' It's the best thing I've found about getting older.

Peggy, thanks for those good wishes. Same to you! I'm glad to be back to one thread here. It was crazy for a few weeks. Back to the old routine again, just the way I like it. ;-)

I'll second you, Stasia. Make way for the new creeper in the family. Brooks and Max can have even more fun together on the same level!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We're up and packed, waiting for the sleepyheads to join us. I'm glad Haley is a good sleeper for their sakes. My kids were always up and rarin' to go before the first light of dawn. We've had a great little visit here in Texas, but it's back home in a little while and back to the boring life. But, as I told Peggy, that's the way I like it. I'm ready to read, read, read. I have Freedom back home patiently waiting for me.

Ahem. Waiting for pictures.

>153 Donna828: I'm with you, Donna. I love the 'boring" life! See you soon!

Hi, Donna, Happy New Year. I see you are about to read Freedom - I just finished it and thought it was great. Did you read/like The Corrections?

safe travels back Donna...

my 2011 thread here

Have a good trip home, Donna. Are you listening to any audio books on the drive?

>154 London_StJ:: You'll have to wait until I unpack my camera, Luxx. I had to have my LT fix first!

>155 Nancy618:: Hi Nancy, I'm really glad to see you here. :-) We had a great time but I'm pretty tired. Haley is sleeping really well and didn't disturb us, but Lucky was a real pill.

>156 JanetinLondon:: I did read The Corrections, Janet. I don't remember it all that well except for the fact that I was depressed afterward! I think Franzen is a good writer, though, and I'm eager to get back to Freedom. I knew I wouldn't have much time for reading on this short trip so I left it at home. Glad to hear you liked it.

>157 curlysue:: Kara, you set up a thread. Good for you! I'll be over to visit shortly.

>158 phebj:: Thanks, Pat. I was able to get the next book in my husband's favorite series so we listened to that on the way down and back. Thanks for providing a nice segue into my first book of the new year...

Book No. 1: The Defector by Daniel Silva. 3.6 stars.

The adventures of Gabriel Allon are perfect audiobooks for us because my husband is a picky reader/listener who loves this series and they keep my attention enough so I don't succumb to carcolepsy! This one had lots of action taking place in Israel, Italy, England, and Russia.

There is some violence in these spy stories (pretty hard to avoid with the protaganist being an assassin for the "good guys"), but I like how it is softened with some art history (Allon's "day job" is art restoration) and an emphasis on relationships and modern Israeli history.

I'm off to a lively start to my year of reading.

Someone else suggested Daniel Silva on the mysteries thread and something tells me I'd really enjoy this series. It's funny because I'm half Israeli (though haven't been there in over 25 years!) and as an adult only very rarely have I read anything by Israeli authors. I'll definitely look this up!

Donna, welcome back! enjoy your Freedom :o)

Donna- Welcome home! I have never read Daniel Silva but I would love to get to Freedom at some point. Maybe I should set up a Group Read of it, this summer. See how you inspire me, my friend!

keep my attention enough so I don't succumb to carcolepsy!

I had to laugh at that but know exactly what you mean. Congratulations on completing your first book for the year. Hope you end up enjoying Freedom.

Happy New Year Donna! May it be a wonderful year of reading.

Happy New Year, Donna! Are you home again?

>161 GCPLreader:: Hi Jenny, LOL. Free at last!

>162 msf59:: Mark, I think you would like Daniel Silva's books. Freedom will make a great group read. My group at the library will be discussing it in the spring. I hope I don't forget what I've read when it comes time to talk about it.

>163 phebj:: Thanks, Pat. I stole the term "carpolepsy" from someone else's thread. Maybe Joanne's?

>164 Whisper1:: Linda, I hope you have a wonderful reading year, too. I liked your review of your first book.

>165 AMQS:: Home again, home again...jiggedy jig. Yes, it's good to be home, Anne. Quick trip! Maybe I 'borrowed' the term carpolepsy from your thread. I remember it came up with all the audio books we listened to on our trip to CO this past August.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here's a picture of Haley, our "Little Buddha" with her new books from the Half Price Bookstore in Frisco, Texas. I think she likes them!



Haley was sick with a cold this week-end, hence the rosy cheeks! It didn't interfere with her healthy appetite or her smiles. She is 3.5 months old now.

ETA: resized picture!

What a doll! And it looks like we have a reader here!

Karen O.

Donna, she's so adorable!!!

And btw, The Defector sounds good. I haven't read anything by Daniel Silva yet, so I'm adding this to my obese wish list.

Thanks, Karen. I'm having trouble with this picture. The first try was huge and this one is tiny. It's a little out of focus because I was in such a rush to get her big smile. I may try one more time...

What a darling photo!

Okay, that's the best I can do on the picture. This attempt was taken directly from camera rather than the edited one on Photobucket. My computer skills are very basic!

>167 klobrien2:: Karen, definitely a reader in the making.

>168 cameling:: Caroline, I think this book might be No. 9 in a series, although you can probably read this as a standalone. Silva does quite a bit of filling in on the backstory as he goes along. Good for me who hasn't read them all; not so good for my husband who is reading them in order fairly close together. He thinks there is too much repetition.

>170 AMQS:: Thanks, Anne. I took this one as we were getting ready to leave. I wish I had taken an extra one because the focus is not so great but I do love her smile and the fact that she's holding the Cinderella book.

Okay...one more picture so you can see why we call her "little Buddha!"



ETA: Resizing again...I'm too tired for this!

Oh, how adorable. I imagine it is so wonderful to hold her.

Thanks, Linda. She is a bundle of joy to hold...and I love to nuzzle her chubby cheeks, too!

Look at that tummy--don't you just want to tickle it? She's a cutie, Donna!

Thank you muchly, Bonnie. Haley has such a good disposition; hardly ever cries. Of course, we hold her and play with her all the time we're there so that may have something to do with it!

Hardly ever cries?? What a sweetheart as well as being a real cutie :)

Thanks for the pictures of Haley, Donna. She's really a doll!

Haley looks like a healthy and very happy baby, regardless of the cold. She'll be a heartbreaker for sure!

Glad you and your hubby made it home safely. Thanks for sharing the Haley pictures with us!

Your "little Buddha" is adorable. My, how she is growing and obviously a book lover. Looks like your New Year is off to a grand start!

Lovely pictures of Haley Donna :-)

She's a beautiful little girl! My first beautiful little girl just turned 18 yesterday, which was exciting in its own right but it started me reminiscing about those first days. *sniff*

She's so cute Donna!! Lovely.

And I have Freedom here too, and think Nathalie (Deern) was going to read it soon as well.

I loved Travels with Charley - and it's the only Steinbeck I've read so far (oh yeah, I have read East of Eden... very creepy main character in that one, ugh) but bought the Grapes of Wrath last year.

Beautiful Haley! Looks like she loves to read and eat! A future LTer for sure!

Haley is a real cutie!

Don't you just want to hold and never let them go?

Thanks for the note about those De Silva books you share with your hubbie. Mine's a picky listener too, maybe he'll like these.

Love the photos, Donna!

I wishlisted your first book because I have always loved a good spy novel. Guess I better check out the first one first, though.

Glad you are back, safe and sound. We will be taking our younger daughter back to college at the end of this week. I am going to miss her, for sure!
--BJ

>177 brenzi:-187: Thanks to ALL my visitors...Bonnie, Pat, Ilana, Stasia, Lynda, Heather, Laura, Cushla, Claudia, Cheli, and BJ. Whew! I hope I named everyone. I'm going to be returning visits to all of you today and tomorrow in betwixt doing laundry and catching up with newspapers and mail, etc. And then there's a little thing I like to do called reading!

Buddha baby is a cutie!

The Corrections I hate to say I never finished, just couldn't do it....

I see you rated it 3 stars so I will be curious to see what your thoughts are on Freedom

What a chubby little baby! So cute!

What a beauty! And a very healthy baby belly, too.

Gorgeous photos of Haley!

>172 Donna828: *awwwww* So adorable! What a little cuddleprecious!

Donna, your "little Buddha" is too,too cute. What a wonderful way to put a smile on the face of everyone who visits your thread!

I'm here, finally. I must have missed your new thread notice.

Cute photo of Haley! She's getting so big!

How the heck did I get so far behind???

Beautiful baby :D

Donna, your 'little Buddha' looks the very epitome of peace and contentment. :-)

What a little cutie !

I'll have to tell Haley's parents that she's got quite a following here on LT. Thank you, one and all, for the compliments on my sweet baby granddaughter. And, I see some newish visitors here...at least for this year.

Welcome, Regina, Jenn, and Cindy. I'll be over to visit everyone who stops by here soon. I've been sporadically participating in Ellie Potten's Readathon today and have managed another 172 pages in Freedom. It is still annoying me in places, but Franzen's writing keeps me going. I'm off to read myself to sleep.

Wow, I got way behind . . .

Great photos! What a cutie!

Morning Donna- I hope you have your derriere firmly planted in your most comfy chair! I plan on doing some of that later on myself, after errands.
I love the latest baby picture! Wow, she's cute! I'm also starting to become more comfortable with posting pix! FINALLY!

Good morning, Terri and Mark. I'm feeling like such a slacker today; I slept like a baby last night while my fellow Readathonners are all bleary-eyed this morning after reading the night away. A 24-hour period of reading would not be fun for me. I like the shorter Sunday Readathons that I hope will start up again. I can do guilt-free reading on my 'day of rest.'

My tutoring sessions with Cindy resume today. We are almost through the 4th and final book in the Laubach series. I'm going to turn her loose after that because she is showing many signs of losing interest after our almost 3 years together. I think that's a good sign as she has made a lot of progress and doesn't need me anymore.

Congratulations to you, on a job well done tutoring!

Thanks, Regina. I was getting ready to walk out the door when I got the call that canceled today's session. That's why I think Cindy is ready to be done with this. We'll have to do lots of reviewing before her check-up (i.e., exam) because of so many missed sessions. She is being moved for the fifth or sixth time since we began in the winter of 2008...probably back to a group home. Having too much responsibility (in supervised apartment living) is very frustrating for her.

I had plenty of errands to do. I'm taking advantage of some nice days here before next week's forecast of snow. I wouldn't mind being snowed in with the rest of the Christmas goodies and my new books.

Fact checking correction...tutoring began in '08 not '07...just setting the record straight for myself.

Haley is just beautiful, Donna! Those rosy cheeks! Even sick, she's a doll.

>166 Donna828: and 172 I just now saw the pictures of Haley! Donna, she is absolutely adorable (as you already know!) -- those rosy cheeks, that cute smile, and that tummy!! I can see why you call her your "little Buddha!" I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures when I get home.

Are you getting snow next week? Will you send some my way?
--BJ

Thanks for recommending Travels With Charlie hadn't heard of that one before! On to the wishlist it goes. I have Freedom on my reading list this year. I have 2 people lining up to read my copy so it should be sooner rather than later... or it may be easier to buy them their own copy lol

Wow, Donna...five days in to the new year and you are soon in need of a new thread.

I should have known better than to leave you guys "alone" for almost two weeks ;)

Have a lovely day!

Sheesh! I'm going to have to do as Lucy (sibyx) does and set a timer for LT. I can't seem to get caught up on everyone's threads. Anyone else struggling with that problem?

>205 Copperskye:: Joanne, thanks for the kind words. How is your Noah doing? Any new pictures of a growing boy?

>206 Nancy618:: Nancy, I didn't take too many pics this time. Just couldn't do that to a sick baby.

>207 billiejean:: BJ, you know that the forecasted snow never appears, right? I'd be glad to send some your way, but I think it's supposed to be coming from your direction. I want one pretty picture and then I'll be pining for spring!

>208 kiwiflowa:: Hi Lisa, just to let you know that Freedom reads fairly quickly despite it's girth! My copy is borrowed from Nancy618 (above). It's good to have friends that share their books.

>209 Apolline:: No going away in the future, Bente! I'm glad you found me. I've been looking at the beautiful scenery pictures on your thread. Enjoy your day in winter wonderland!

I had all my starred threads caught up yesterday but looking today, I'm behind again. That doesn't even count the threads I haven't even started! I think it's hopeless!

So now your tutoring is coming to a close, what will you do with your freed up time, Donna? ;-)

Sheesh! I'm going to have to do as Lucy (sibyx) does and set a timer for LT. I can't seem to get caught up on everyone's threads. Anyone else struggling with that problem?

Yes, but so far it's a happy struggle. I haven't even been on LT a year yet so this is my first changeover to a new year and I've been checking out threads I've never heard of before based on people's introductions. As a result, I have an insane amount of threads starred. It basically takes me all day to catch up and then I start all over the next day. The bad thing is that I keep finding people's threads from last year that I've forgotten to star. I'm retired so I have alot of time on my hands but I don't know how people do it that work.

Glad you're enjoying Freedom. I really liked it (I gave it 4 1/2 stars).

Love the Haley photos, and love the thread title. I remember having a conversation about the double meaning of 'overbooked' around LT, so I'm glad you thought of using it as a thread title!

I'm desperately trying to catch up!

#213 : I'm retired so I have alot of time on my hands but I don't know how people do it that work.

Surreptitiously. :-) I peek in sometimes while I'm at work if I have a few moments to take a break, but most of the time I log in when I get home, while the dinner's cooking or after dinner. The challenge for me is finding book reading time vs LT reading time. It's so much fun here that I sometimes lose hours (on weekends) without realizing it.

#215: So do I Caroline. Luckily I have a few minutes at work for LT on time to time, but mostly at home. I had to force myself out from LT an hour ago to read my book...and what do you know? Well, I'm back. And I do enjoy the book too, so I find it a bit strange.

#210: I'm not going anywhere, Donna!;)

I'm seriously thinking about installing a program called LeechBlock on my computer. You can then set when you're allowed to access certain programs. Other times it just tells you --so sorry, go READ.

You know you're in trouble when you secretly wish the power would go out, so you can just settle in front of the fire with a book or a Nook.

I confess that LT has been eating into my study time the last couple of weeks (which is definitely not good) but even so I am only barely managing to stay caught up with my starred threads: I'm skimming a lot, posting very little, and I have no hope of getting to the threads that I haven't starred.

Let me join in the LT time conversation here to say I'm in the middle of a "can't put down" book so I am hopelessly behind on threads and find it unfathomable how people keep up AND read more than a hundred books a year. Am I the only person who actually sleeps??

#219: I'm just as amazed as you are! I'm actually off to bed at this minute, hoping I will get my eight hour sleep ;) But I will never reach a hundred books a year, it is very doubtful at least :D

>211 cyderry:: Hopeless to get caught up...sounds like real life, Cheli!

>212 cameling:: Good question, Caroline. I'm seriously thinking about take a lit class at Missouri State. Friday is the last day to register. I'll have to see what classes are still open.

>213 phebj:: Pat, it is a bit insane around here. I think things will settle down soon. I don't think I liked Freedom as much as you did. I wanted to, but with all my reservations, could only rate it 3.5 stars. That is my 'Good but not Great' category. My thoughts will be here tomorrow after I've slept on it.

>214 BookAngel_a:: Thanks, Angela. "Overbooked" describes my reading life perfectly.

>215 cameling:: Caro, we all suffer from LT addiction at times. If we spend all our time here and no reading gets done, we'll eventually run out of book talk. Now that would be sad.

>216 Apolline:: I'm glad you're here for the long haul, Bente.

>217 tututhefirst:: Tina, that might not be a bad idea. I think I'll go low tech and just put a post-it note on the computer. Something like: Shouldn't you be reading?

>218 Eat_Read_Knit:: Caty, Caty...school comes first...as you well know! What classes are you taking?

>219 brenzi:: Hmmm...wonder what unputdownable book Bonnie is reading? Sleep is imperative for me...just ask my husband about my crankiness when I don't get at least 8 hours.

>220 Apolline:: G'night, Bente...or should I say good morning? I can't believe I read over 100 books this year. But then, I am unemployed which gives me lots of free time.

Hi Donna, thought you and your visitors might at least be curious about the following:



Welcome one and all! I've just posted our new thread for our Jan 7-8 read-a-thon
so come on over and join the discussion there!

Just waving 'hello' as I attempt to catch up on threads, Donna :)

Hi Donna - am looking forward to seeing what you had to say on Freedom. I gobbled up the first 50 or so pages then stopped to finish library books, before Christmas, and was enjoying it a lot.

Just saying "Hello" and a belated "Happy New Year" to you. I've got your thread starred now!

Thanks, Ilana....absolutely love that picture. Could've been me as a kid!

Hi Stasia, I am woefully behind on threads. I may have to give up some sleep in order to keep up.

Cushla, I wish I'd written my review last night. I actually dreamed about Freedom, but not in a good way.

Welcome back, Louanne. I thought I'd lost you. Happy New Year to you! Off I go to look for you. Are you here or in the 50-book group? Never mind, I'll find you...

Book No. 2: Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. 3.3 stars.

Here are parts of my review with apologies to those who loved this book. As I said above, I ruminated and even dreamed about this book overnight. I wasn't going to write a formal review but gathered up the nerve to say what I think about it. Mixed feelings here. Feel free to offer a rebuttal!

From my review...

Is Freedom the new Novel of the Century? An emphatic NO! …Decade? Probably not. …Year? Perhaps, if you enjoy books about miserable people in a world with little hope. I usually don’t mind dark books, but Franzen inflates his story of a modern American family with the repercussions of the “burdens of liberty” and the “heavy weight of empire.” These phrases were taken from the flyleaf blurb about the book and give the correct impression that this is a novel with an agenda.

This book falls into my “good but not great” rating category because Franzen does flawed characterizations so well. In the beginning, he expertly describes suburbia at its worst with gossiping neighbors and teen lust abounding. He portrays the effects of generational conflict in a convincing way. To his credit, the value of marriage and the merits of friendship under adverse circumstances are well-presented themes. He is a very good writer who can tell a thought-provoking story...

Insert two paragraphs of why I thought the book was overrated.

...I hope these heartfelt words are not taken as an indictment against the book which many people loved. I’m a firm believer in reading a book and deciding its merits for oneself. The bottom line for me is: the book is overwrought and overrated, yet it is entertaining and gave me food for thought.

Donna, I can't believe how fast your thread grows to garganuation proportions! I finally had to resort to skimming, so I hope I didn't miss anything important. Loved the pictures of Haley. Grandmas must be nicer than Moms because I never had any reservations about taking photos of sick kids, and I KNOW my mom took them of my brother and me (mumps and all!). She looks healthy and happy in your pictures, I don't know how you manage to get in the car and leave at the end of a visit.

Looking forward to all that the new year brings - good books and good friends.

Loved your review, and now I have to get to it really soon!!

thumbs up on the Freedom review :) now I am sure I will pass on it.....

and you have a "hot" one now!

Whoa. 230 posts already?

I'm with you on Freedom; I thought it was extremely overrated. Great review!

Donna, I gave you a thumb just for being honest in the face of all the hype about Freedom. Lol! I stopped reading The Corrections because I wasn't in the mood for reading more about that miserable family even though the writing was really good, but now I've got Freedom as a Christmas gift, so have committed myself to reading them both this year. Doesn't sound like a good attitude going in, does it? ;-)

I think I liked Freedom more than you guys did. I didn't start out expecting "amazing", just "good", on the theory that I thought The Corrections was really very good, and I always think the next one can't be as good, even if it takes years to write. I thought the descriptions of Walter and Patty's children were good, and Richard Katz was an extremely interesting character - complicated and annoying, and very attractive to lots of women despite his bad aspects (or maybe because of them), and I thought very real. (It made me laugh, too, because I have a cousin named Richard Katz, nothing like this guy at all.) Walter and Patty, not so good, but in a way they are less important, even though they are the key characters. Anyway, it's just a book. Hope you enjoy your next book more.

He takes the usual digs at Republican and Catholics.

Hey, hey, hey! 'Nuff said. I was not enamoured with The Corrections and I probably won't read this one.

Actually Donna, I think I'm the one reading the book of the year or decade....The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer is taking my breath away. I'll savor the last 50 pages tonight. Hopefully, you have something good lined up for yourself.

Excellent review BTW. Thumbs up.

I'll get caught up here before I begin my review of Middlemarch for tonight's book group at the library. I have pages of notes that probably made great sense when I wrote them. Now to decipher and put them in some kind of order.

>228 sjmccreary:: Hi Sandy, it's tough leaving that little baby especially when I don't know the next time I'll see her. They were going to move at the end of the month but have decided to stay where they are which means I won't be going down then.

I'm looking forward to more good books and time with good friends this year.

>229 cushlareads:: I'm glad I didn't scare you off, Cushla. You'll enjoy the political angle of the book! Be sure to let me know what you think about it.

>230 curlysue:: Hot? Thanks for letting me know, Kara. I thought I might be burned off the LT rolls by Franzen fans. ;-)

>231 kidzdoc:: Thanks, Darryl. It means a lot that you agree with me.

>232 bonniebooks:: A thumb for honesty. Thanks, Bonnie. I hope you like the book; it was well written. I just had a few little quibbles with it.

>233 JanetinLondon:: Hi Janet. I think more people liked Freedom than those who didn't. I'm firmly in the middle here. I tend to pay more attention to the writing (which was very good imo) than the characters and plot.

That's funny about your cousin named Richard Katz. At least his character (in the book) stayed true to form as all-around jerk! Walter was the nice guy with road rage and other anger problems; the environmentalist who wanted to blast off mountain tops. Patty was so consumed with depression that she couldn't make a good decision to save her life. The ending saved the book for me...putting it into the 'good' range. I have to be careful with spoilers here. I plan to read one of Franzen's early works about St. Louis sometime this spring so I haven't given up on him. :-}

>234 brenzi:: Bonnie, I have The Invisible Bridge lined up to read soon. I'm glad to hear how good it is. I'm ready for a breathtaking book! Thanks for the thumb.

I think I will give Freedom a pass for now too. It is not like I do not have anything else to read in the meantime!

I think you just pushed Freedom onto the 'think about it later' pile. What a good honest description of how this book read for you. Since several other reviews you have done matched my experiences, I'm taking your word on this one too. I too can find more enriching material than that much negativity at this point in my life.

Thumbs up on the Freedom review. Well done.

Thumbs up on your review of Freedom from me too, Donna. I obviously liked it more than you did but would agree I don't view it as the Great American Novel. I went into it expecting not to like it (I could never get into The Corrections) and was surprised by how much I did. I found his various rants entertaining for the most part and thought they worked with the story (in contrast to my current book, So Much for That, where I'm finding the rants very distracting).

Looking forward to hearing what your book group thinks of Middlemarch.

Donna- Terrific review! I actually liked The Corrections quite a bit, so I plan on still giving this one a shot. Once in awhile, a title will be heavily divided and you just have to go with your gut.
You are running a Hot Thread over here, my friend!

Wow, so many posts to catch up on. I've been watching the numbers climb up and thinking but I have to go in there sometime because I wanted to comment on Martin Booth, the author of Gweilo, which I've seen you mention on a couple of threads. I read his The Industry of Souls a few years ago and thought it was a great novel, and have his Islands of Silence ready to read this year. I've also read a few of his children's books. Looking forward to your thoughts on Gweilo.

Also your review of Freedom confirms for me that I won't be reading it in a hurry. Too many great overlooked writers to discover.

Hi, Donna! *waves*

Just passing through . . . loved the review of Freedom . . .

I too started reading The Corrections and had to stop because wasn't enjoying it one bit. I don't mind dark either, but it depends how it's done. I also gave your review a thumbs up for honesty. I don't see why we should all feel obliged to love a book because the critics say it's great and a lot of other readers love it too... it's such a personal thing and I figure there are so many great books out there, I'd rather avoid those that rub me the wrong way. It's a definite pass on Freedom for me!

Love the honest review, Donna!
Bonnie, very intrigued by your current read. If you love it that much ... well it's pretty much a given that I will too !

I was never sure if I wanted to read Freedom and now I am less inclined. I still have The Corrections sitting unread on the shelf. Its been relegated to the basement shelves where the next stop is a new home. Great review, though, Donna!

Liked your review of Freedom told us how you felt yet didn't spoil anything. I also enjoyed The Corrections so will give this one a go. You have tampered down expectations which can actually be a good thing when a book gets so much attention in the media etc.

That was a great review of Freedom! I've heard ever so much about this must-read book, but will probably hold off reading it.

Adding to the chorus of praise for your review of Freedom! As I *detested* The Corrections, I will give it wide berth, but your review was very persuasive.

#221 At the moment, I'm studying Church-State relations in Europe in the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries.

Freedom didn't appeal to me very much before, and it definitely doesn't appeal now. Just not my thing.

I'm looking forward to hearing the verdict on Middlemarch, though, because I do want to read that one soon!

Taking a deep breath before I attempt to reply coherently to 14 messages. That'll teach me to write a controversial review! I'll say one more time that Freedom was a well-written book. My personal bias against authors writing with an agenda set me against it from the beginning. I did read it with an open mind, however, and tried to present a fair picture of the book. I'm a firm believer in people reading the books they want to read and forming their own opinions. As I said, many people love this book, and I don't want to be the one to keep another from an enriching reading experience. And those are my final words on Freedom. Moving on....

#236: Stasia, there are definitely many great books out there to read...and you're doing a great job reading so many of them!
#237: I'm glad you're still thinking of reading Freedom, Tina. Think positive!
#238: Thanks, Jenn. Good to see you here.
#239: Pat, I'm glad Freedom worked for you. Now about the Middlemarch book discussion last night...

Our group was about half its usual size. This was a HUGE book for assigned reading over the holidays and I fear the no-shows were also the no-reads! I'm so glad I started in November with the group here and read it slowly.

There were seven of us (2 men!), we'd all read the book, several had seen the video as well, and it was a great discussion. Our regular facilitator was out-of-town, but the young librarian who took the Prof's place was very knowledgeable about Eliot. She did a "paper" in college on MM and has read a bio of George Eliot and most of her other works. I did ask what to read next, and she suggested Mill on the Floss but warned that it is very sad.

We had such an intense discussion here on LT that I didn't really glean much new info. The F2F group loved the book and had done some homework about the Reform Act that was in the background of MM. It was pointed out that all the characters in MM (except for Farebrother) were related either by blood or marriage. I knew that in the back of my mind, but never thought much about it. I LOVE talking about books either online or in person. I'm a lucky woman to have both avenues in my life.

To those who haven't read it, Middlemarch is highly recommended. Just be prepared for a loooong reading experience.

It's a very, very, very long read, and I for one quail at its sheer bulk. I've never made it past about p120, it just becomes so...overwhelming...about then for me.

Mill on the Floss, on the other hand, I sailed through, and then fell into a depressed torpor for several days.

Maybe Eliot and I should not become further acquainted.

Back to business...

#240: Mark, I feel confident that if you liked Corrections you will like Freedom. I only gave The Corrections 3 stars and probably should have skipped Freedom. I think I like to be challenged in my thinking and this one certainly did that!
#241: Kerry! Great to see you on my thread, and thanks for the change of subject. I am enjoying Gweilo very much. It's a perfect antidote to my last 'challenging' read. Martin Booth is a new author for me.
#242: Thanks, Terri. *waves back*
#243: Ilana, you nailed it. Reading is a personal thing. I don't mind going against the critics, but I don't like disagreeing with my fellow LTers, though I guess it would be boring if we all liked the same books.
#244: Hi Laura, Bonnie never steers me wrong in a book. I was her shadow last year.
#245: LOL, Joanne, I have a basement collection, too. We can't read and keep everything.
#246: Lisa, after reading the Time magazine article about J. Franzen, I had big expectations for this book. I agree that it is best to start out with low ones and, hopefully, be pleasantly surprised.
#247: Louanne, you will probably be too busy to read such a big book once school starts up for you again. Maybe next summer?
#248: I'll learn my lesson one of these days, Richard. Thanks for the 'note' of praise.
#249: Caty, read Middlemarch; skip Freedom. I'm learning from Richard and others to follow my gut.

Whew, caught up. Now I'm off for most of the day. Catch ya'll later!

Edited for clarification.

>251 richardderus:: It will be a long while before I'm willing to be in another depressed torpor. I'll put The Mill on the Floss in the someday pile!

Sensible, IMHO.

Hi, Donna. Hope 2010 is treating you and yours well.

I stopped by to say hello and I will return to read posts and get more caught up sometime later.

> re: #252 - the last part of your thoughts to Caty cracked me up.

*I'm learning from Richard and others to follow my gut.*

Yes, Donna. Richard has a good gut to follow! You can't miss it. (Just kidding, buddy).

D. - I know what you really mean, btw. So many of us have strong preferences for and against certain books. Kinda funny isn't it how the same book feels so different to each one of us? And, and, and our intuition is the one to follow! Then we are happy, not disappointed. What could be better. Contentment.

BTW, I haven't set up my new thread for the 75 Books in 2011 Challenge. I hope to do that very soon. I still have to enter the last read(s) of 2010 and come up with a recognizable ID line for my Challenge thread. I forgot to use my ...... last time and many people could not find me because of my mistake.

I'm smiling thinking of the picture of you and your DH on the steps of the staircase. I just love it!

Ruthie

Hey there, Ruth. I'm certain you will come up with the perfect title for your thread. I'll be over to visit when you set up shop.

You got here just in time to help me move over to my new place. You can find me here.

Donna: I've seen your mentions elsewhere of the Civil War and Battle Cry of Freedom. If you don't know of it, this blog http://www.theatlantic.com/ta-nehisi-coates/ hosted a group read / discussion of the book in 2010. The initial post is here: http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/06/battle-cry-of-freedom-discuss.... Seems no simple way to search for the entire series on the blog site, but a Google of "battle cry of freedom ta-nehisi coates" will get you there. (I didn't participate and haven't read the book, but I have the blog on RSS feed.)